Radio socket



mg March l0, 1942.

l A. im mi M. ALBEN RADIO SOCKET Filed March 10, 1938 M/l 70N DEN vENToR A ORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1942 RADIO SOCKET Milton Alden, Brockton, Mass.

Original application August 4, 1933, Serial No. 683,575. Divided and this application March 10, 1938, Serial No. 195,046

1 Claim.

This application is a division from my appli cation Serial Number 683,575, filed August 4, 1933 and granted as Patent No. 2,119,517, for a Socket for vacuum tubes, etc.

One object is to provide a simple, compact and effective construction for a tube socket, which can be made economically.

Another object is to provide a compact construction which can be readily installed.

Another object is to provide a socket of the foregoing character which has effective contacts.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the contacts can be mounted or held in the insulating body without the use of rivets.

Another object is to provide a construction of maximum contact efficiency in a minimum size.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a contact which may be inserted into place in the socket with great ease, and which, when so inserted, will either automatically lock itself in position or may easily be so locked in place that it will neither be loose nor be susceptible to accidental dislodgment therefrom.

A still further object is to provide a socket whose contact making portions are situated so far below its surface that it will be impossible for a prong to make connection therewith until it is actually first inserted into a passageway of insulating material, so as to reduce the possibility of accidental and undesired contacts taking place between the prong and the contact making portions of the socket, and also so as to reduce surface leakage between adjacent contacts.

In carrying out this invention I provide a molded insulating body which can be inserted into a hole in a supporting panel and automatically locked or secured in place simply by turning the socket body, or which can be secured therein by any other suitable retaining means. I also provide independently formed contact members which can be inserted into this body either before or after it has itself been secured to the panel.

A number 'of modifications are shown in the accompanying drawing, where:

Fig. 1 shows a plan View of one form of socket.

Fig. 2 shows a side View of the socket of Fig. 1, and shows the panel in section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View showing a prong recess and contact of Figs. 1 and 2.

f' Fig. 4 1s a fragmentary cross sectional view or a modified construction on the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the plane of the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

1.11 the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,

' used in lieu of that just described.

The insulating body is provided with a number of recesses, openings or passages I5, each of which is made large enough to accommodate a tube or connector prong to be inserted, as well as a sheet metal spring contact I6. At one end each contact has an outwardly bent hook II, adapted to interlock with a shoulder I8 in a groove in the insulating body at one side of the contact receiving portion. This shoulder I8 is inclined so as to automatically guide the outer end of the contact to its seat as the contact is inserted.

The opposite end of the contact I6 constitutes a soldering lug or tongue I9 of any suitable character and is adapted to be inserted through an opening or slot I5 in the outer edge of the bottom of the recess I5. A spring tongue I9 integral with the contact member is adapted to be forced out or automatically to spring out into the position shown in Fig. 3 when the contact is inserted. The hook I'I at one end and the tongue I9 at the other end of the contact portion thus serve to limit the movement of the contact and to hold it resiliently in place so as not to be loose, due to the spring action of tongue I9. It will thus be seen that in this form of construction the contact is self locking with the insulating body and the insulating body may be in effect made self locking or interlocked with the panel so that no screws, rivets or other fastening devices are required either for the contacts or for the insulating body itself.

In the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the contact 2B is formed of resilient sheet metal suitably shaped and positioned in the opening ZI so as to provide adequate engagement for the inserted tube or plug prong (not shown). The portion of contact 2U which actually makes such engagement with an inserted prong may be of any suitable cross section. The present drawing (Figs. 4 and 5) shows a plain nat strip in the form of a sheet metal spring finger which extends generally lengthwise in the prong passage or opening 2| along one side thereof. This Contact linger is integral with a stem portion 22 and held in place by ribs 23 and the lug 24, which may be arranged to automatically spring out when the contact member is inserted into the opening in the insulating body 25 so that it is self locking therein.

The grooves 26 extend longitudinally of the contact receiving portion of the opening 2l and serve as guides for the edges of the contact strip portion 22.

The soldering tongue or lug 27 may be bent suitably at any suitable angle. construction is adapted to be inserted from the front of the insulating body with the stem 22 arranged in the grooves 26 between the ribs 23 and the wall 28 of the body. Bending of lug 24 may be performed before the contact is inserted within the body, so that it will automatically be retained in place by the spring action of this lug, or else the bend of this member may be made after its insertion into place, by any appropriate means, so that the contact is not locked until such additional operation is performed thereupon.

It will be noted that contact members 20 and i6 both have their uppermost portions make contact with the insulating body, at a point lying below the upper surface of the body. This increases the length of the leakage path between the various contacts across the upper surface of the insulating body, thus decreasing materially surface leakage between adjacent contacts, and also reduces the chance of accidental contact between a tube prong and a contact occurring, before the prong is actually partly within its proper opening.

Such a contact The upper ends of ribs 23 serve to limit insertion of the contact strips.

While there are many advantages in having the lugs of the contacts automatically interlock when the contacts are put in position, some advantages may be had in the use of contacts which can be readily inserted into passages or recesses in the insulation and in which it is necessary to expand the contact or bend a lug at one end or the other in order to hold the contact in place. These constructions, however, as well as those provided for automatic locking may be consid- .ered as self locking as they require no screws, rivets or the like to hold them in place.

I claim:

A socket comprising a unitary insulating body having a recess open at the front with an extension along one edge and ribs spaced from a wall of the extension forming guide grooves between the ribs and said Wall, said grooves eX- tending from a point near the front face of said body completely to the rear face thereof, and a contact member within said recess with a shank bent over the outer ends of said ribs and having its edges positioned in said grooves, -having a tongue extending from thebottom of the recess and having a portion of said tongue bent at an angle to cause it to interlockA with said body bottom whereby in assembly the edges of said shank are slidable in said guide grooves, the shank being insertable into said body from the front face thereof to emerge from the rear face of said body through said grooves.

MILTON ALDEN. 

